Sophisticated telephone systems, such as those used in large businesses, commonly include “advanced” features, such as call waiting, caller ID, conference call, call forwarding, transfer call, and/or voicemail messaging. A number of these features are not available on conventional public switched telephone network (“PSTN”) telephone systems that are normally used in residential and small/medium-sized businesses (e.g., Plain Old Telephone Service—POTS). A commercially-available telecommunication management software package, such as the IOBI™ product available from Verizon, enables conventional PSTN telephones to have the various advanced telephone features otherwise available only on sophisticated telephone systems. The telecommunication management software package typically provides client software that runs on personal computers and communicates over a wide area network, such as the Internet, to facilities deployed by a telecommunications service provider.
When a call is made to a subscriber's telephone number, a notice is sent from the facilities of the service provider to the subscriber's personal computer furnished with the telecommunications management software. The telecommunications management software notifies the subscriber that a call is being requested and allows the subscriber to handle the call by selecting a control feature from a menu of advanced telephone control features supported by the telecommunications management software. The user performs such selection by using the general selection facilities of the computer—typically a mouse, but also general “navigation” keys (such as arrow keys)—to navigate a menu system, highlight and select a menu entry corresponding to the advanced telephone control feature desired.
Although the telecommunication management software provides for access to advanced telephone control features that may not be available on conventional PSTN telephone systems, having to use the computer mouse, or arrow keys, to navigate through the menu options before selecting a desired control feature requires that the user perform a number of steps, e.g., scrolling, pointing, clicking. It is understood that business owners are concerned about being able to understand and address the needs of potential clients as quickly and efficiently as possible to maintain a competitive edge in their respective markets, and that the time required to make a call control selection using the general navigation facilities of a computer may be too long for certain callers. Furthermore, users of the telecommunications management system may require training to be able to quickly navigate the menu system, resulting in lost productivity and inflexibility in personnel staffing. Therefore, it is appreciated that an advantage can be realized from a system and method that allows for business personnel, or consumers, using telecommunication management software as described above to save more time with regard to handling and disposing of incoming calls.